CONCEPT MAPS IN AUGMENTED REALITY TO IMPROVE THE LEARNING PROCESS AND THE RETRIEVAL OF INFORMATION

Memorization techniques are of primary importance in education. Two relevant and extensively used techniques are the Concept maps and the method of loci. Both methods are based on the visualization of information, which helps memorization and retrieval. For these reasons, they are also considered inclusive learning tools for people with Specific Learning Disability. Augmented Reality is a technology that has gained popularity in many sectors, from industry to the medical one, for its effectiveness in visualizing graphical items on top of real contexts. The paper demonstrates that Augmented Reality can also be beneficial for representing and interacting with Concept maps in a 3D virtual space that is linked to the real world. Specifically, the authors developed an Augmented Reality application in which the key features of both the Concept maps (such as visual-spatial logic and concepts organization) and of the method of loci are integrated with those of Augmented Reality technologies to improve the learning process and the retrieval of information.